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Firefighter Dies of Heart Attack Battling Brooklyn Blaze

A Brooklyn firefighter, rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest from the scene of a warehouse fire, has died from his injuries, a city official said Monday evening.

A 17-year veteran of the force, Lt. Richard Nappi was overcome by heat and collapsed while battling the blaze. Nappi, a 47-year-old native of the Bronx who lives on Long Island, was rushed to Woodhull Hospital where he died of an apparent heart attack.

It was the FDNY’s first line-of-duty death in nearly three years.

At the hospital, Mayor Bloomberg comforted Nappi’s widow Mary Anne, his 12-year-old daughter Catherine and his 11-year-old son Nicholas, saluting the sacrifice their loved one made keeping the city safe.

“It’s very tragic. There’s nothing we can ever say,” Bloomberg said. “They were in love, lived together, had kids. All of a sudden, he’s gone.”

Nappi was a responding firefighter on Sept. 11. The mayor said Nappi “helped rebuild our city in ways New Yorkers understand.”